Metro 2033 By Dmitry Glukhovsky An English paper done by Jonathan Krasin
About the author/reasons for book There are many different kinds of books in the world each with different stories, characters, themes but I chose the one I saw would fit my interests best. The book Metro 2033 is a well-known and higly praised novel world wide. Written by famous Russian journalist Dmitry Glukhovsky the book was originally a social experiment turned into Russian best seller when finally published as a written book. The book online and in text was well recommended by people throughout the world as a story of survival in a hideous new world that gives you a different impression or perspective of our world. The traits this book possess was able to inspire people giving the book its own fan club all talking well of it making it well known throughout the Untied States especially. While the book was free online many people were asked to create their own stories about the metro some ,which I read, were great and sparked more interest in the book. The book being so influential people in Russia formed a cult around the book which is one way I heard about the great book being there is also cult related websites not just fan clubs. Then there is the video game adaption of the book which is how I found out about this book personally. The book , being better than expected, had lived up to its name while I read, giving me a different perspective but this may not satisfy everyone but it did tell a great story becoming one of my favorite books.
Genre Metro 2033 is a Sci-fi, action, supernatural mix with a bit of horror and spiritual depending on how you view the book. It combines the sci-fi post-apocalyptic with action then the horror of unknown at every twist in the plot. Supernatural is not an easily chosen genre but within the unknown of the new world is the spawn of hell which came into being through a mix of high blasts of radiation and normal living creatures creating the horror or unknown. It combines the elements of the supernatural with the spiritual though as well not just ghosts but the idea of enlightenment, heaven, hell and purgatory. This combination creates different feelings for people of different beliefs and thoughts, for some it may create feelings of despair, loneliness and isolation others may feel differently when reading. Within the book a new era has started there with new cults, religions and beliefs most of the characters in the story believe in some form of redemption or afterlife. Our main character is not so easily convinced especially when meets an interesting man with different views upon the world from which a portion of the spiritual genre part comes from most being from the different beliefs religions throughout the story. The last is horror this would tie in deeply with the supernatural from which most of the horror comes from the “unknown”. People, creatures, spirits, and the most important the metro all being a part of the book’s uniqueness contributing to creating the unknown horror, spiritual, action , post-apocalyptic and supernatural feel of it.
A long summary The year is 2033, 20 years after a nuclear war that ended the human race’s control over the world. The human race has been reduced to the underground metro of Moscow, Russia where the only survivors wage war on each other in hope for control of the metro stations. The story begins with our main character Artyom living in his home station VDNKh. In the beginning he lives with his stepfather Sukhoi who saved him as a child. VDNKh, a peaceful station, has been under attack by a new species called the dark ones a ghoulish like species unable to feel with touch giving them near invulnerability. Artyom is tasked with a mission by one of Sukhoi’s old friends a man who calls himself hunter. Hunter came to VDNKh hearing of this threat and hoped to liquefy it but finding out he is in over his head called upon Artyom to warn Hunter’s friends in polis of the situation if he had not returned within in a day. When hunter did not return Artyom with his new quest joins a caravan that travels through Alexeyevskaya to Rizhskaya. The caravan runs into trouble with a new phenomenon and with the problem showing Artyom of his ability to come out of it alive gives him his new companion.
At Rishskaya Artyom meets a man named Bourbon, whom he offered Artyom several clips of ammunition, the currency in the metro, in exchange for Artyom guiding him through some tunnels with more phenomenons similar to the one Artyom encountered. When they reach the haunted tunnels the phenomenon again returns and Bourbon is cast into the will of the dead and dies. Artyom alone in the tunnel with the phenomenon destroying his thoughts he is luckily rescued by an intelligent man named Khan. Khan save Artyom taking him to his home and explaining that a man named hunter appeared to him In a vision to save Artyom. Artyom then explains his mission and the phenomenon to Khan where Khan describes to Artyom that the Phenomenon was actually the souls of the people who had died in the metro with no Heaven, Hell, afterlife or purgatory to enjoy peace in. The Duo decides to set off to gain followers for entry into a cursed tunnel where only a group of ten or more can survive. Halfway through the tunnel Khan’s “tunnel sense” warns him of danger from which Artyom, A man name Ace and himself survive. The trio then makes their way to Kitai Gorod where they rest until Artyom is separated from the others when the station comes under attack. Having fled into the tunnels Artyom meets Mikhail Porfirevich and his grandson Vanechka. Artyom Accompanied by his new friends made their way through Kuznetsky-Most a communist patrolled station where Mikhail stay is not liked by the communist leaders. The Trio continued on to Pushkinskaya a Fascist Station claiming that only Russians belonged in the metro an no one else. On approach to the station they border guards ask for documents and seeing that the grandson Vanechka has no documents the border guards turned the old man a way while Artyom was let in. Artyom watching as the Guards ordered Mikahil to strip down to his under ware to be led off into the tunnel to be killed but sadly when Vanechka intervenes he is killed. This angers Artyom and in response he takes out his gun and fires a whole mag through the border guard that had killed Vanechka. Artyom now faced with hanging for his actions goes to pondering over things feeling no regret for the first human he killed. Giving up on his mission Artyom accepts his fate asking his last request for water. When he is in the noose he hears gun shots just before he is hanged and losses consciousness. Artyom awakes on a rare motorized handcar full of communist commandos, separate from the red line, which had cut him down and saved his life. He gets to know them thanks them and informs them he must leave where they drop him off at Paveletskaya with a submachine gun and a lamp. Paveletskaya is a rare situation where the pressure gates between the surface and the metro are gone and the whole station is exposed to radiation and fear of attack from the hideous creatures from the dead city above at night. The station is well funded by the Hanseatic League, a government occupying the ring line with one of its stations right next to Paveletskaya. Artyom is then forced to stand with the night watch until the exit to the tunnels is opened but he does meet mark an old chubby man who explains the stations routines to Artyom. Once the shift ends Mark and Artyom head into the tunnels to enjoy the famous rat races which mark had boasted about during the watch. Mark knowing of Artyom’s need to get in to the ring line wagers that his new pet rat will beat the undefeated champion named pirate whose owner is the station master of the nearby Hanseatic League station. When Mark’s pet rat loses Artyom is then forced to clean the latrines in the opulent ring station. When he sees an opportunity to escape his seven day hell to complete his mission he takes it. He passes through three more Hanseatic League stations until he is found by brother timothy a Christianity follower and brings him to the watchtower, a church within an old metro train car in a collapsed tunnel. There Artyom is taught about Jehovah, Jesus and Satan but when he had enough he walked out until persistent timothy asked for the new cloths back once Artyom had ran off. He ran all the way to Polyanka a deserted station except for two inhabitants who were discussing certain beliefs, views and philosophies on life. Artyom listened intently until one of them discussed fate acting as a plot where the main character would survive until his destination this idea had reinvigorated Artyom until he had ran into the tunnel between Polis and Polyanka. This tunnel brought back the familiar feeling of tunnel fear which Artyom had only experienced early on in his journey but not since. He spent the next hour scaring himself with what may have been echoes or another person following him until he reached polis. He then told the guards of the situation in the north where he was asked to wait for Melnik, a stalker like hunter. During his wait period he befriended a “Brahmin” named Daniel; he explained the government in polis to Artyom about a council consisting of Brahmins (Smart people librarians, scientist historians Etc.) and the military (former government leaders and military personnel). When Artyom finished resting up he met Melnik where they asked the council for help with the situation at his home station but he was denied until the Brahmin asked him to go in the ruins of Moscow enter the great library and find a powerful book which foretells the future and in exchange they will give Artyom information to help defeat the dark ones. Artyom agrees to while accompanied by Daniel, Melnik and another stalker nicknamed Ten, the four enter the Dead city and make their way to the library. Once they have entered the library the four encountered the fearsome hideous and intelligent creatures rightly named the Librarians. Melnik and ten fend off waves of librarians while Artyom and Daniel search the library for the book until Daniel is killed. Artyom unable return to Polis empty handed is forced to reach another station above ground to enter the metro while Melnik returns with the injured Ten. Artyom is able to make it to the station before sunrise even after surviving vicious silent creatures and huge flying monsters. Here he meets Melnik to discuss their newly acquired info about missiles able to save VDNKh and the controls located within in mythical Metro-2. The duo set off towards Keivskaya where the dead are supposedly taking children at night and the guards are posted in the collapsed tunnels which led to the infamous Park Pobedy, “The city of the dead”. Melnik leaves Artyom to go find the entrance to D6 the military installation which can launch the missiles. While Melnik is gone Artyom befriends a kid named Oleg whose dad is Anton commander of the watch and friends with Melnik. The second night Oleg disappears, Anton and Artyom attempt to find him when they notice a secret passage way on the roof of the blocked tunnel between the two stations. The two are captured by savages who believe in a religion created by a philosopher, born before the war, whom acts as their priest and condemns Artyom and Anton to be eaten. They are soon rescued by Melnik and a band of military fighters he brought with him. The group then battles their way through Park Pobedy where they end up in the wrong tunnel. The tunnel turns out to be the second entrance to Metro-2, with the priest and a savage named Dron hostage they group make their way through Metro-2. Their first obstacle is waiting beneath the kremlin in the form of a biological mass most likely the result of bio weapons and radiation. The mass consumes several members of the group including the rescued Oleg. The rest mange to escape when Melnik orders they throw a flame thrower fuel tank into the mass which causes and explosion sending the bio mass into full retreat. They group finds D6 where Anton, a former “missile man”, will launch the missiles. Artyom along with Ulman, another one of Melnik’s friends, head off to VDNKh to precision aim at where the dark ones are coming from. Throughout the journey Artyom had been experiencing bad dreams of his home station falling to the new enemy thinking of them nothing more than dreams. When they are close to finishing his quest Artyom realizes that these dreams were actual visions when he is shown the universe in one of these visions but Artyom being too late is forced to realize the truth and that he had condemned the entire human race from their salvation.
Characters Artyom, the protagonist of the story, has just turned twenty while living at his home station VDNKh with his stepfather Sukhoi. Artyom lived with his mom as a child even after the nuclear war until one day his first home station was attacked by giant mutated rats from the depths of the metro. Artyom’s Mom gave him to a border patrol guard running to a rare motorized trolley the only one of its kind in the surrounding 3 station. Sadly Artyom’s mom was murdered by the rats like everyone else in the station except for 5 border patrol guards and little Artyom. Now living with his step father Artyom meets hunter one of Sukhoi’s friend’s whom gives a mission to Artyom. His mission is to get help from polis to defend his home station from attacks caused by mutants named the dark ones. Along his mission Artyom as a young man ponders life, religion, beliefs and the reason to continue on. He encounters multiply companions along the way which help him define himself. One such man is Khan who helps Artyom to see life differently than that of the past and of everyone else. “They are jackals but I am a wolf. And there are some stations where I am known only by that name… But you are a wolf cub.”- Khan
Khan is an old wise man born long before the nuclear war; he is around the age of 60. He saves Artyom after he had a vision of Artyom getting trapped in a tunnel. Khan being a wise “tunnel wolf” sees the potential in Artyom and helps him on his mission until they are separated at Kitay-gorod. “People, you say? No, my friend, they are beasts. They are a pack of jackals. They were preparing to tear us apart. And they would have. But they forgot one thing. They are jackals but I am a wolf. And there are some stations where I am known only by that name… But you are a wolf cub”-khan. Khan has a different perspective of the world he sees that a new era calls for a new perspective that we cannot view life as people did then such as time. He also carries the powerful sixth sense called feeling the tunnel, he sees this ability within Artyom too and that one day Artyom may be like him, a tunnel wolf.
Melnik is a stalker from polis; he was born before the war and had a career in the Russian military. A stalker is a man brave enough to go to the surface to search for food, petrol, fire wood, vitamins and other precious goods. He is the stalker who helps Artyom at polis but when polis refuses help he joins up with Artyom when assigned a task from the Brahman side of the council. “Legends were always flying about, but there are thousands of them in the metro, you see. And we live by legends, and not by bread alone.”-Melnik states while talking about how to save Artyom home station with a legend that may be real. He is resourceful, smart and a great leader allowing him to be high in authority knowing many people had still commands some of his fellow comrades from post-apocalypse.
Themes and big ideas One big idea within the story is beliefs, religions, fate, ideology, each are all heavily discussed and seen throughout the book. Artyom our protagonist ponders these often trying to define his own meaning to life, seeing as all the other religions are the same to act as a “crutch” to support oneself and give a person purpose. He spends the entire book searching for answer while completing his mission, he explores the idea of fate and that his companions all face death or sacrifices while he remains safe. He is told of the idea that this is fate intervening to grant him invulnerability along his journey to reach his ultimate goal which he finds satisfying for a while. Nevertheless he finds even more answers to the one question, one viewing the human as a waste of life sucking in everything beautiful and useful to leave behind nothing but poison, death and waste. Throughout the metro Artyom learns of fascists, communists, Satanists, Christians, people who only wish to survive and people that just want to have families. Artyom seeing all religion as meaningless hope to aid in survival and ideology as pointless ideas for survival adopts none of them as his own. Artyom views life as simple as starting at birth station with one tunnel that ends at death station and that all religion, ideology were peoples fruitless attempts at finding one of the side passages within this tunnel of life. Then khan adds onto this with his own idea of what ever peace or nirvana you believe in has been atomized so that once the body leaves the soul it has nowhere to find refuge and remains in the metro joining the rest of the spirits searching for peace in a dead world.
Major conflict One conflict within the story caught my eye, it was that the stations of the metro were divided between powers some independent others banned together like the communist red line, the Hanseatic League ring line and the fascists. The inability to stick together that divides the metro ties into the major conflict of attack from an unknown enemy such as the dark ones, or the thought of ever returning to the surface. The plan from the Hanseatic League to save themselves from the dark ones was to blow the tunnels leading to VDNKh seeing that the stations between them and the dark ones were not theirs but the threat to close risk any attempt to save the stations. This Artyom worries about how would his home defend against foreign attacks if divided and the only way was to blow up tunnels. His mission’s purpose became seeing him as the only way to save the metro from attack and viewing hunter’s profession as to save the metro from threats by “liquefying” them to save the metro hence his name hunter. Artyom views his mission similar to that of hunter’s profession but Artyom not agreeing with hunters idea that humankind could one day return to their burnt out world. Artyom sees the division of the metro as a step back from that and that the world, no longer being theirs, is now ruled by the mutants of the surface while man has become a nocturnal being hiding from the radiated ruins of their once magnificent cities. Artyom realizing this losing hope for humanity to ever regain its former glory and that they would remain in the metro until they die out.
Symbol The symbolic picture I created represents a different characteristic I read about within the metro. The first is the Moscow metro map with the anarchy “A” inside representing the division of the metro and inability to stick together. This also emphasizes the chaos within the unguarded tunnel where people may die or disappear and no one will ever care. The other half is the kremlin Russia’s symbol of survival with the Moscow metro “M” over it showing all that the metro is the key to your survival in this new world. Together they represent the metro as your only safe haven from the surface but still with plenty of chaos.
Unusual Words 1. Repudiation- the rejection of something “But for him the Repudiation of the observers, the snake and other metro gods made life easier.” 2. Ignominious-never ending, slow to go by “Artyom was still hoping for a miracle that would spare him form an ignominious end in a sticking abyss.” 3. Vexation- a mixed feeling of jealousy, offence and hatred “Vexation that his protector had said such things about the rough bearded scum bag who had only two hours ago threatened their lives?” 4. Surreptitiously – quietly without notice “This time the noise had snuck surreptitiously” 5. Sonorous- soothingly, pleasing “My young friend he said in a pleasant and sonorous voice”
Pop Culture/modern works POP CULTURE I found this book through the popular video game adaption of it. The video game adaption being chosen by Dmitry Glukhovsky to give him better freedom over recreating the story something that a movie could not do. The video game widely popularized the book being the only reason the book was translated into English plus created anticipation for the movie adaption. Dmitry Glukhovsky is attempting to do a movie adaption of the book which will be done by MGM. When Dmitry first released the book it was an online free as an “experiment” happy with the success of the book he invited others to write stories about the metro to expand this post-apocalyptic universe of his. When he later released his indirect sequel Metro 2034, as another “experiment”, he invited people to create paintings, music, more writing and stories that were inspired by or a part of metro world of his. This created certain culture around the book, within Moscow especially they have formed a “cult” around the book using it as a philosophy that they can apply to life about religion, beliefs and Morales. Books with this type of culture and uniqueness remind me of things such as the cold war, H.G. Wells, Stephen King and the indirect sequel Metro 2034 where events could inspire entire cultures books and generations. Un like the past examples the book is able to reach out towards the younger generations because you could see yourself as Artyom due to timing and the fact that the metro stations, tunnels, cities, weapons and threat of nuclear war existed and still does. This creates the ease of connecting with the book and enjoying it more.
Metro 2033
By Dmitry Glukhovsky
An English paper done by
Jonathan Krasin
About the author/reasons for book
There are many different kinds of books in the world each with different stories, characters, themes but I chose the one I saw would fit my interests best. The book Metro 2033 is a well-known and higly praised novel world wide. Written by famous Russian journalist Dmitry Glukhovsky the book was originally a social experiment turned into Russian best seller when finally published as a written book. The book online and in text was well recommended by people throughout the world as a story of survival in a hideous new world that gives you a different impression or perspective of our world. The traits this book possess was able to inspire people giving the book its own fan club all talking well of it making it well known throughout the Untied States especially. While the book was free online many people were asked to create their own stories about the metro some ,which I read, were great and sparked more interest in the book. The book being so influential people in Russia formed a cult around the book which is one way I heard about the great book being there is also cult related websites not just fan clubs. Then there is the video game adaption of the book which is how I found out about this book personally. The book , being better than expected, had lived up to its name while I read, giving me a different perspective but this may not satisfy everyone but it did tell a great story becoming one of my favorite books.
Genre
Metro 2033 is a Sci-fi, action, supernatural mix with a bit of horror and spiritual depending on how you view the book. It combines the sci-fi post-apocalyptic with action then the horror of unknown at every twist in the plot. Supernatural is not an easily chosen genre but within the unknown of the new world is the spawn of hell which came into being through a mix of high blasts of radiation and normal living creatures creating the horror or unknown. It combines the elements of the supernatural with the spiritual though as well not just ghosts but the idea of enlightenment, heaven, hell and purgatory. This combination creates different feelings for people of different beliefs and thoughts, for some it may create feelings of despair, loneliness and isolation others may feel differently when reading. Within the book a new era has started there with new cults, religions and beliefs most of the characters in the story believe in some form of redemption or afterlife. Our main character is not so easily convinced especially when meets an interesting man with different views upon the world from which a portion of the spiritual genre part comes from most being from the different beliefs religions throughout the story. The last is horror this would tie in deeply with the supernatural from which most of the horror comes from the “unknown”. People, creatures, spirits, and the most important the metro all being a part of the book’s uniqueness contributing to creating the unknown horror, spiritual, action , post-apocalyptic and supernatural feel of it.
A long summary
The year is 2033, 20 years after a nuclear war that ended the human race’s control over the world. The human race has been reduced to the underground metro of Moscow, Russia where the only survivors wage war on each other in hope for control of the metro stations. The story begins with our main character Artyom living in his home station VDNKh. In the beginning he lives with his stepfather Sukhoi who saved him as a child. VDNKh, a peaceful station, has been under attack by a new species called the dark ones a ghoulish like species unable to feel with touch giving them near invulnerability. Artyom is tasked with a mission by one of Sukhoi’s old friends a man who calls himself hunter. Hunter came to VDNKh hearing of this threat and hoped to liquefy it but finding out he is in over his head called upon Artyom to warn Hunter’s friends in polis of the situation if he had not returned within in a day. When hunter did not return Artyom with his new quest joins a caravan that travels through Alexeyevskaya to Rizhskaya. The caravan runs into trouble with a new phenomenon and with the problem showing Artyom of his ability to come out of it alive gives him his new companion.
At Rishskaya Artyom meets a man named Bourbon, whom he offered Artyom several clips of ammunition, the currency in the metro, in exchange for Artyom guiding him through some tunnels with more phenomenons similar to the one Artyom encountered. When they reach the haunted tunnels the phenomenon again returns and Bourbon is cast into the will of the dead and dies. Artyom alone in the tunnel with the phenomenon destroying his thoughts he is luckily rescued by an intelligent man named Khan. Khan save Artyom taking him to his home and explaining that a man named hunter appeared to him In a vision to save Artyom. Artyom then explains his mission and the phenomenon to Khan where Khan describes to Artyom that the Phenomenon was actually the souls of the people who had died in the metro with no Heaven, Hell, afterlife or purgatory to enjoy peace in.
The Duo decides to set off to gain followers for entry into a cursed tunnel where only a group of ten or more can survive. Halfway through the tunnel Khan’s “tunnel sense” warns him of danger from which Artyom, A man name Ace and himself survive. The trio then makes their way to Kitai Gorod where they rest until Artyom is separated from the others when the station comes under attack. Having fled into the tunnels Artyom meets Mikhail Porfirevich and his grandson Vanechka. Artyom Accompanied by his new friends made their way through Kuznetsky-Most a communist patrolled station where Mikhail stay is not liked by the communist leaders. The Trio continued on to Pushkinskaya a Fascist Station claiming that only Russians belonged in the metro an no one else. On approach to the station they border guards ask for documents and seeing that the grandson Vanechka has no documents the border guards turned the old man a way while Artyom was let in. Artyom watching as the Guards ordered Mikahil to strip down to his under ware to be led off into the tunnel to be killed but sadly when Vanechka intervenes he is killed. This angers Artyom and in response he takes out his gun and fires a whole mag through the border guard that had killed Vanechka.
Artyom now faced with hanging for his actions goes to pondering over things feeling no regret for the first human he killed. Giving up on his mission Artyom accepts his fate asking his last request for water. When he is in the noose he hears gun shots just before he is hanged and losses consciousness. Artyom awakes on a rare motorized handcar full of communist commandos, separate from the red line, which had cut him down and saved his life. He gets to know them thanks them and informs them he must leave where they drop him off at Paveletskaya with a submachine gun and a lamp. Paveletskaya is a rare situation where the pressure gates between the surface and the metro are gone and the whole station is exposed to radiation and fear of attack from the hideous creatures from the dead city above at night. The station is well funded by the Hanseatic League, a government occupying the ring line with one of its stations right next to Paveletskaya. Artyom is then forced to stand with the night watch until the exit to the tunnels is opened but he does meet mark an old chubby man who explains the stations routines to Artyom. Once the shift ends Mark and Artyom head into the tunnels to enjoy the famous rat races which mark had boasted about during the watch. Mark knowing of Artyom’s need to get in to the ring line wagers that his new pet rat will beat the undefeated champion named pirate whose owner is the station master of the nearby Hanseatic League station. When Mark’s pet rat loses Artyom is then forced to clean the latrines in the opulent ring station. When he sees an opportunity to escape his seven day hell to complete his mission he takes it.
He passes through three more Hanseatic League stations until he is found by brother timothy a Christianity follower and brings him to the watchtower, a church within an old metro train car in a collapsed tunnel. There Artyom is taught about Jehovah, Jesus and Satan but when he had enough he walked out until persistent timothy asked for the new cloths back once Artyom had ran off. He ran all the way to Polyanka a deserted station except for two inhabitants who were discussing certain beliefs, views and philosophies on life. Artyom listened intently until one of them discussed fate acting as a plot where the main character would survive until his destination this idea had reinvigorated Artyom until he had ran into the tunnel between Polis and Polyanka. This tunnel brought back the familiar feeling of tunnel fear which Artyom had only experienced early on in his journey but not since. He spent the next hour scaring himself with what may have been echoes or another person following him until he reached polis.
He then told the guards of the situation in the north where he was asked to wait for Melnik, a stalker like hunter. During his wait period he befriended a “Brahmin” named Daniel; he explained the government in polis to Artyom about a council consisting of Brahmins (Smart people librarians, scientist historians Etc.) and the military (former government leaders and military personnel). When Artyom finished resting up he met Melnik where they asked the council for help with the situation at his home station but he was denied until the Brahmin asked him to go in the ruins of Moscow enter the great library and find a powerful book which foretells the future and in exchange they will give Artyom information to help defeat the dark ones. Artyom agrees to while accompanied by Daniel, Melnik and another stalker nicknamed Ten, the four enter the Dead city and make their way to the library.
Once they have entered the library the four encountered the fearsome hideous and intelligent creatures rightly named the Librarians. Melnik and ten fend off waves of librarians while Artyom and Daniel search the library for the book until Daniel is killed. Artyom unable return to Polis empty handed is forced to reach another station above ground to enter the metro while Melnik returns with the injured Ten. Artyom is able to make it to the station before sunrise even after surviving vicious silent creatures and huge flying monsters. Here he meets Melnik to discuss their newly acquired info about missiles able to save VDNKh and the controls located within in mythical Metro-2.
The duo set off towards Keivskaya where the dead are supposedly taking children at night and the guards are posted in the collapsed tunnels which led to the infamous Park Pobedy, “The city of the dead”. Melnik leaves Artyom to go find the entrance to D6 the military installation which can launch the missiles. While Melnik is gone Artyom befriends a kid named Oleg whose dad is Anton commander of the watch and friends with Melnik. The second night Oleg disappears, Anton and Artyom attempt to find him when they notice a secret passage way on the roof of the blocked tunnel between the two stations. The two are captured by savages who believe in a religion created by a philosopher, born before the war, whom acts as their priest and condemns Artyom and Anton to be eaten. They are soon rescued by Melnik and a band of military fighters he brought with him. The group then battles their way through Park Pobedy where they end up in the wrong tunnel. The tunnel turns out to be the second entrance to Metro-2, with the priest and a savage named Dron hostage they group make their way through Metro-2. Their first obstacle is waiting beneath the kremlin in the form of a biological mass most likely the result of bio weapons and radiation. The mass consumes several members of the group including the rescued Oleg. The rest mange to escape when Melnik orders they throw a flame thrower fuel tank into the mass which causes and explosion sending the bio mass into full retreat. They group finds D6 where Anton, a former “missile man”, will launch the missiles. Artyom along with Ulman, another one of Melnik’s friends, head off to VDNKh to precision aim at where the dark ones are coming from. Throughout the journey Artyom had been experiencing bad dreams of his home station falling to the new enemy thinking of them nothing more than dreams. When they are close to finishing his quest Artyom realizes that these dreams were actual visions when he is shown the universe in one of these visions but Artyom being too late is forced to realize the truth and that he had condemned the entire human race from their salvation.
Characters
Artyom, the protagonist of the story, has just turned twenty while living at his home station VDNKh with his stepfather Sukhoi. Artyom lived with his mom as a child even after the nuclear war until one day his first home station was attacked by giant mutated rats from the depths of the metro. Artyom’s Mom gave him to a border patrol guard running to a rare motorized trolley the only one of its kind in the surrounding 3 station. Sadly Artyom’s mom was murdered by the rats like everyone else in the station except for 5 border patrol guards and little Artyom. Now living with his step father Artyom meets hunter one of Sukhoi’s friend’s whom gives a mission to Artyom. His mission is to get help from polis to defend his home station from attacks caused by mutants named the dark ones. Along his mission Artyom as a young man ponders life, religion, beliefs and the reason to continue on. He encounters multiply companions along the way which help him define himself. One such man is Khan who helps Artyom to see life differently than that of the past and of everyone else. “They are jackals but I am a wolf. And there are some stations where I am known only by that name… But you are a wolf cub.”- Khan
Khan is an old wise man born long before the nuclear war; he is around the age of 60. He saves Artyom after he had a vision of Artyom getting trapped in a tunnel. Khan being a wise “tunnel wolf” sees the potential in Artyom and helps him on his mission until they are separated at Kitay-gorod. “People, you say? No, my friend, they are beasts. They are a pack of jackals. They were preparing to tear us apart. And they would have. But they forgot one thing. They are jackals but I am a wolf. And there are some stations where I am known only by that name… But you are a wolf cub”-khan. Khan has a different perspective of the world he sees that a new era calls for a new perspective that we cannot view life as people did then such as time. He also carries the powerful sixth sense called feeling the tunnel, he sees this ability within Artyom too and that one day Artyom may be like him, a tunnel wolf.
Melnik is a stalker from polis; he was born before the war and had a career in the Russian military. A stalker is a man brave enough to go to the surface to search for food, petrol, fire wood, vitamins and other precious goods. He is the stalker who helps Artyom at polis but when polis refuses help he joins up with Artyom when assigned a task from the Brahman side of the council. “Legends were always flying about, but there are thousands of them in the metro, you see. And we live by legends, and not by bread alone.”-Melnik states while talking about how to save Artyom home station with a legend that may be real. He is resourceful, smart and a great leader allowing him to be high in authority knowing many people had still commands some of his fellow comrades from post-apocalypse.
Themes and big ideas
One big idea within the story is beliefs, religions, fate, ideology, each are all heavily discussed and seen throughout the book. Artyom our protagonist ponders these often trying to define his own meaning to life, seeing as all the other religions are the same to act as a “crutch” to support oneself and give a person purpose. He spends the entire book searching for answer while completing his mission, he explores the idea of fate and that his companions all face death or sacrifices while he remains safe. He is told of the idea that this is fate intervening to grant him invulnerability along his journey to reach his ultimate goal which he finds satisfying for a while. Nevertheless he finds even more answers to the one question, one viewing the human as a waste of life sucking in everything beautiful and useful to leave behind nothing but poison, death and waste. Throughout the metro Artyom learns of fascists, communists, Satanists, Christians, people who only wish to survive and people that just want to have families. Artyom seeing all religion as meaningless hope to aid in survival and ideology as pointless ideas for survival adopts none of them as his own. Artyom views life as simple as starting at birth station with one tunnel that ends at death station and that all religion, ideology were peoples fruitless attempts at finding one of the side passages within this tunnel of life. Then khan adds onto this with his own idea of what ever peace or nirvana you believe in has been atomized so that once the body leaves the soul it has nowhere to find refuge and remains in the metro joining the rest of the spirits searching for peace in a dead world.
Major conflict
One conflict within the story caught my eye, it was that the stations of the metro were divided between powers some independent others banned together like the communist red line, the Hanseatic League ring line and the fascists. The inability to stick together that divides the metro ties into the major conflict of attack from an unknown enemy such as the dark ones, or the thought of ever returning to the surface. The plan from the Hanseatic League to save themselves from the dark ones was to blow the tunnels leading to VDNKh seeing that the stations between them and the dark ones were not theirs but the threat to close risk any attempt to save the stations. This Artyom worries about how would his home defend against foreign attacks if divided and the only way was to blow up tunnels. His mission’s purpose became seeing him as the only way to save the metro from attack and viewing hunter’s profession as to save the metro from threats by “liquefying” them to save the metro hence his name hunter. Artyom views his mission similar to that of hunter’s profession but Artyom not agreeing with hunters idea that humankind could one day return to their burnt out world. Artyom sees the division of the metro as a step back from that and that the world, no longer being theirs, is now ruled by the mutants of the surface while man has become a nocturnal being hiding from the radiated ruins of their once magnificent cities. Artyom realizing this losing hope for humanity to ever regain its former glory and that they would remain in the metro until they die out.
Symbol
The symbolic picture I created represents a different characteristic I read about within the metro. The first is the Moscow metro map with the anarchy “A” inside representing the division of the metro and inability to stick together. This also emphasizes the chaos within the unguarded tunnel where people may die or disappear and no one will ever care. The other half is the kremlin Russia’s symbol of survival with the Moscow metro “M” over it showing all that the metro is the key to your survival in this new world. Together they represent the metro as your only safe haven from the surface but still with plenty of chaos.
Unusual Words
1. Repudiation- the rejection of something
“But for him the Repudiation of the observers, the snake and other metro gods made life easier.”
2. Ignominious-never ending, slow to go by
“Artyom was still hoping for a miracle that would spare him form an ignominious end in a sticking abyss.”
3. Vexation- a mixed feeling of jealousy, offence and hatred
“Vexation that his protector had said such things about the rough bearded scum bag who had only two hours ago threatened their lives?”
4. Surreptitiously – quietly without notice
“This time the noise had snuck surreptitiously”
5. Sonorous- soothingly, pleasing
“My young friend he said in a pleasant and sonorous voice”
Pop Culture/modern works
POP CULTURE
I found this book through the popular video game adaption of it. The video game adaption being chosen by Dmitry Glukhovsky to give him better freedom over recreating the story something that a movie could not do. The video game widely popularized the book being the only reason the book was translated into English plus created anticipation for the movie adaption. Dmitry Glukhovsky is attempting to do a movie adaption of the book which will be done by MGM.
When Dmitry first released the book it was an online free as an “experiment” happy with the success of the book he invited others to write stories about the metro to expand this post-apocalyptic universe of his. When he later released his indirect sequel Metro 2034, as another “experiment”, he invited people to create paintings, music, more writing and stories that were inspired by or a part of metro world of his. This created certain culture around the book, within Moscow especially they have formed a “cult” around the book using it as a philosophy that they can apply to life about religion, beliefs and Morales. Books with this type of culture and uniqueness remind me of things such as the cold war, H.G. Wells, Stephen King and the indirect sequel Metro 2034 where events could inspire entire cultures books and generations. Un like the past examples the book is able to reach out towards the younger generations because you could see yourself as Artyom due to timing and the fact that the metro stations, tunnels, cities, weapons and threat of nuclear war existed and still does. This creates the ease of connecting with the book and enjoying it more.
Link to good reads → http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/397895680